The Garden Helpers 



BY- 



FRANK HUTT. 




PRICE 25 CENTS 



Eldridge Entertainment House 

Franklin, Ohio Denver, Colo. 



GET THIS NEW PATRIOTIC MONOLOt 



"THE STARS AND STRIPES 



IN FLANDERS 



99 



By SEYMOUR S. TIBBALS 



HERE is a ten* minute dramatic reading 
with a climax that will cause a thrill. 
Suitable for a male or female reader and a 
number that will strengthen any program. 

We recommend it for any patriotic celebra- 
tion, commencement, alumni or civic banquet. 

The story deals with the manner in which 
the news of America's entrance into the war 
was received in a dugout in Belgium. A col- 
onel of artillery, a priest and an Irish-Ameri- 
can are the leading characters. You will 
like it. 

PRICE 25 CENTS 



THE ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE 



FRANKLIN. OHIO 



DENVER. COLO. 



THE GARDEN HELPERS 



A Patriotic Exercise. 



By FRANK HUTT. 



Copyright 1918, Eldridge Entertainment House 



Published by 



ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE, 

FRANKLIN, OHIO DENVER, COLO. 






An exercise suitable for Public School Garden 
Classes, for Springtime and Arbor Day Events, and the 
like. 

Scene — A Garden Background. 
CHARACTERS 
- • (Dressed in khaki, if desired) 

TWO BOYS AND TWO GIRLS, each with a spade. 
TWO BOYS AND TWO GIRLS, each with a hoe. 
TWO BOYS AND TWO GIRLS, each with a rake. 
TWO BOYS AND TWO GIRLS, each with a trowel. 

ONE BOY AND ONE GIRL, each with a wheel- 
barrow. 

A GIRL IN YELLOW, with yellow sunshade, sun- 
flower decorations, representing the Sun. 

A BOY, with rubber coat and sou'wester, represent- 
ing the Rain. 

YOUNG MAN, OR WOMAN— the Gardener. 

TMP96-006521 

DEC I2135I 

©C|,D 508J8 

• * • * 

"Ho \ 



THE GARDEN HELPERS. 



Gardener — (enters, recites the folloiving, and then 
exits or may remain, to direct in person, the formations 
of participators.) 

Little garden-makers, did you ever really know 
All the friendly folk who help to make the garden 

grow? 
They are ever ready, doing many chores for you; 
Let's go out and meet our servants, old and tried 

and true. 

(Enter Boy and Girl, ivho in their recitations 
personify the Spade. They stand side by side, each 
with spade held at right shoulder.) 



I'm just a Spade, but I've been told 
My family is ages old. 
I don't know much about the Hoe, 
Nor how far back the Plow can go. 
But I've as proud a line as they, 
No matter what the people say. 
Yet we're too active, all may see, 
To pay much heed to ancestry. 
I'm just a common gardener. 
As all of my grandfathers were. 
In gardens small and gardens big, 
My duty is to dig and dig. 
And take the greatest interest 
In causing them to look their best. 

Girl — It is true. Nobody knows just when or 
where the first of the Spade family lived. But we have 
proved good servants to man, for centuries. Wild men 
used shells and sharp stones to dig with; but a true 
Spade never began as a shell or a stone. We are old, 
very old, and our ancestor may have been a kind of 
wooden shovel. Our wisest Spades agree to that; and 
we have dug deep enough into our history to know that 



^ The Garden Helpers 

we are one of the sure marks of man's progress. Our 
masters took a step upward when we came upon the 
scene. Our relations are Shovels and Garden Forks of 
many kinds; but the boy or girl gardener finds the 
Spade suitable for all needs. 

(Enter another hoy and girl, each also with a 
spade; and as these stand in line with the first two, 
all recite the following:) 

When garden-making season's here, 

There is no merrier time of year; 

The Spades are out without a doubt, 

To help to put the frosts to rout. 
For garden-making's in the air. 
And gardeners are everywhere — 
A shovel here and a shovel there, 
Hurrah, for garden-making. 

Go where you may, uphill and down, 

By meadow path or through the town. 

Spades have a way that's widely known. 

Of garden making, all their own; 
And gardens big, and gardens small 
Spring up by every hedge and wall; 
There surely is enough for all — 
Hurrah, for garden making. 

(These four then take several steps to the rear, 
where they renfiain.) 

(Enter Boy and Girl, who in their recitations 
personify the Hoe. They stand side by side, each 
with Hoe at right shoulder.) 

Boy — 

I've always had to hoe my way. 

And I can hoe my row today; 

And as the seasons come and go, 

I work, and laugh, and say **Hoe, hoe." 

I am the friend of plant and tree, 

Who, every year, remember me. , 

I go where Plows can't go, at all, i 

And close along by hedge and wall, 

Among the grape and berry bowers, 



The Garden Helpers 5 

And through the rows of plants and flowers, 

I bid the sun-baked soil give way, 

And air the root-beds every day. 
Girl — A long stick with a hooked end — a crotched 
stick — ^that was the first wild Hoe, my ancestor, who 
is said to have been very much like the first Plow, ex- 
cept that he was smaller in size. The first Hoe was 
sharp enough for his days, perhaps, but we suppose 
those to have been very dull days. It seems impossible 
that he could have done good work, at all, only where 
the soil was very soft and pliable. But when the gar- 
den-makers discovered how useful the Hoe became when 
made with a steel blade, they ever since have been free 
in their praise of the way we do our work. We have 
many relatives, but the Garden Hoe with the wide blade 
is the best known. The famous painting, 'The Man 
With the Hoe," is to remind people how much the 
world depends upon the Gardener and the Hoe. 

(Enter another hoy and girl, each, also with 
a hoe; and as these stand in line ivith the other 
two, all recite the following:) 

From the city and the town, 

Smiling hearts and faces 
March with us all up ^nd down, 

Fields and garden places. 
Help us as we turn the soil, 

Every kind newcomer; 
Beautify with loving toil 

All the paths of summer. 
While the eager farmer goes 

Over hill and valley, 
There the cheery-hearted Hoes 

Every season rally. 
Hear their steady, strong refrain. 

Through the gardens ringing — 
Birds and bees in orchard lane 

Join them in their singing. 
(These four then march back, to stand in sin- 
gle line with the Spades, all still facing front. All 
then recite the following, ivith motions as directed) 



The Garden Helpers 
0, this is the way we Spade the land, 

(place spade on ground, as though spading) 
And this is the way we Hoe it, 

(place hoe on ground as though at work) 

Until it is time for Busy Hand 

To hasten along and sow it. 

0, then you shall see how the gardens yield, 

To cheer every friend and neighbor; 

The music we make over hill and field, 

Is part of the song of labor. 

(Here they shoulder hoes and spades and 
march about.) 

Then shoulder the Spade, as the farmers do, 

And shoulder the Hoe each morning; 
And as we go marching the pastures through,. 

We give all our gardens warning. 
For there can be never an idle day, 

Wherever we delve and burrow, 
As, spading and hoeing, we sing our way 

Along through the sunny furrow. 

(The eight, standing in one line, as before,, 
sing, to the air of the simple refrain, "Merrily, We 
Roll Along," the folloiving:) 

Let us help the gardens grow. 

Gardens grow, gardens grow. 
Let us help the gardens grow. 

All the season through. 

(Notv, at the front of the platform, enter Boy 
and Girl, ivho in their recitatons personify the 
Rake. They stand side by side, each with rake at 
right shoulder.) 

Boy — 

Though I'm a Rake, I never shirk 
My part in all the garden work. 
I'm not so old as Hoe or Spade, 
But yet a record I have made; 
I try to make their task complete. 



The Garden Helpers 7 

By keeping lawns and gardens neat. 

I'm a good friend to garden seeds, 

But enemy to all the weeds; 

And seedlings surely ought to grow, 

When IVe been up and down a row. 
Qiri— When a garden is all planted and growing 
well, I like to keep at work, all summer, at any rate, 
up and down the paths and between the plants. I clean 
up the garden, and at the same time help to loosen the 
soil about the vegetables and flowers, and so aid them 
in their growth. It is surprising how well a garden 
looks after I am through with it, as I attend to getting 
all the dried leaves and stalks out of the way, and on the 
fertilizer heap. When the rains or dews come, and find 
that I have been busy, they know their own work will 
have better results. 

(Enter another Boij and Girl, each also with a 
rake; and as these stand in line ivith the other tivo, 
all recite the folloiving:) 

Raking the lawns and borders. 

Raking the orchards, too. 
We are the garden's warders, 
Toiling the summer through. 
Over the paths of duty. 

Passing from morn to night. 
Proving the season's beauty. 
On, through the weeds and blight. 
Raking the nooks and byways. 

Clearing them, one by one. 
Raking the leaf-strewn highways. 

After the summer's done; 
Gleaning through plain and valley, 

Sharing the sun and shade, 
Come, where the Rakers rally, 

Join in our glad parade. 
(These four step hack, in front of the four 
Spades. Now enter Boy and Girl, who in their 
recitations personify the Trowel. They stand side 



8 The Garden Helpers 

by side, with a trowel held up in right hand, as 
they speak.) 

Boy— 

A handy little gardener am I — 

I know the garden couldn't do without me. 
I'm quick and spry, and that's the reason why 

My masters always think a lot about me. 
You see, I'm needed almost everywhere, 

From one end of the Garden to the other; 
I'm always running errands here and there, 

For I'm the plant-folk's little friend and 
brother. 
I make a deep, rich place for tender root, 

And help to set the seedlings all in order; 
I find them nooks, or open space, to suit. 

And turn the soil in every bed and border. 
Go up and down the garden paths with me, 

Where many a season I have delved and 
weeded, 
And as you look about you there, you'll see 

A score of places where a Trowel's needed. 

Girl — We do not boast of a very old family tree, 
just because we really do not know very much about 
it. But the old gardeners of Egypt, and of the Holy 
Land, and of Rome, must have had something very 
much like a Trowel in their garden work. They knew 
a great deal about gardening, and it would be strange 
if some little servant like the Trowel were not employed 
in preparing the soil and helping to beautify grand old 
estates. We have many uses, but chiefly to transplant 
small plants, and to make a place big enough to spread 
the roots of the plants well. 

(Enter another Boy and Girl, each also with 
a Trowel, and as these stand in line with the other 
two, all recite the following:) 

The plant-folk need us everywhere. 

All through the garden spaces; 
We give the fruits and flowers our care, 

And find them pleasant places. 



The Garden Helpers 9 

We fashion beds for bush and vine, 
And row by row, and line by line. 
We help to make all gardens shine, 
With smiles upon their faces. 

(Noiv the four march back and forth.) 

We count our steps, with one, two, three, 

Along the even furrow; 
While here and there we bend the knee, 

(All bend one knee) 

We delve, and dig, and burrow. 
Then press the tiny rootlets down, 
With leaves and soil, so rich and brown, 
And hope that every good may crown 

Our work and care so thorough. 

(These four then step back, in front of the 
four Hoes, and in line tvith the four Rakes. Then 
all recite the following:) 

Both early and late, we shall find a way 

To busy ourselves every season through; 
In making the gardens grow, day by day, 

There's ever some task for us all to do. 
The Rakes take a very long stride, 'tis true, 

While Trowels run onward so merrily. 
And whether the garden be old or new, 

The long and the short of it all, are we. 
The Rakes travel fast, and they travel far. 

But Trowels keep up in the race, as well. 
While all of us ha-ste where the toilers are. 

Our message of labor and hope to tell. 
With songs of the season we bear the yoke 

Of delving and clearing, where gardens grow. 
Come, join the parade of all busy folk— 

The long and the short of it, on we go. 
(All, led by the Gardener, sing, to the air of 
the refrain, ''Merrily We Roll Along/' the follow- 
ing '.) 



10 The Garden Helpers 

Let us help the gardens grow, 

Gardens grow, gardens grow, 
Let us help the gardens grow. 

All the season through. 

(Now, at the front of the vlatform enter Boy 
and Girl, each ivith a wheelbarrow, who in their 
recitations 'personify the Wheelbarrow and its uses. 
They stand side by side, at the center front of the 
sixteen others.) 

Boy— 

As down the garden path I glide, 

They call me Friend Wheelbarrow; 
In all that's done on every side 

I have a lively share, 0. 
I travel back and forth, each day, 

A servant proved and willing, 
And bear great burdens on the way, 

My duties all fulfilling. 
A Barrow is a busy B, 

His hours with work beguiling. 
And so, wherever you find me. 

You'll find a garden smiling. 

Girl — Well, my people have always carried heavy 
burdens, and I suppose we shall always do so. That's 
what Barrow means — to bear a load. My ancestor was 
just a box, with handles at each end, and was carried 
about by two gardeners. You will find Barrows like 
that today. But the Wheelbarrows are rather proud of 
the wheel, which makes the gardener's task easier, and 
helps him get over the ground quicker. And then, the 
two sideboards, you know, help us about carrying a fine 
big load. Time and again, I have heard people say: 
"If it were not for my wheelbarrow, I do not see how I 
could have a garden." 

(All may recite the following, as the wheelbar- 
row Boy and' Girl march back and forth, with their 
ivheelb arrows, before the others.) 



The Garden Helpers H 

All the way from Barrow Town, 
We go trundling up and down, 
Back again, and to and fro. 
Wheresoever gardens grow. 
In and out of winding roads. 
See us bear our goodly loads, 
Through the wakened fields of Spring, 
To the time of Harvesting. 

Barrow Town has heard the call. 
Summoning the workers all, 
So we join the long parade. 
With the Rake, and Hoe, and Spade, 
Wheresoever Labor leads, 
Onward, to the garden's needs. 
Every season's work to crown. 
All the w^ay from Barrow Town. 
(The Wheelharrotvs then take their places di- 
rectly in front of the two platoons of eight each. 
Then enters Girl in Yelloiv, representing the Sun^ 
who stands at the side of Girl ivith Wheelbarrow.) 
Girl Representing the Sun — 
The Sunshine is a Gardener. 
Long, long before the cities were, 
And long before man came to sow, 
I helped to make wild gardens grow. 
I know the gardens, large and small, 
My sunbeams work among them all; 
Their colors wonderful they give, 
And shine their light, and bid them live. 
Perhaps I stay too long, sometimes. 
And bring the heat of tropic climes; 
But if I did not come — alas. 
How soon the gardens all would pass. 
Yet, here I am, with warmth and light. 
To make your gardens fair and bright. 
Remember, then, the joys I bring— 
I help to do your gardening. 
(Enter Bo\j with umbrella and rubber coat,, 
who stands beside the Boy with the wheelbarrow.) 



i2 The Garden Helpers 

Boy Representing the Rain — 

Here comes the Rain, if you please, and I 

Am one of the gardeners, too. 
I come in clouds, when the land is dry. 

And shower the rain drops through. 
In all the ages, there's none so old 

At garden-making, so I've been told. 
O, never mind when the Sun's away. 

For I have a part to do; 
The plants that welcome a sunny day 

Are glad of the rain clouds, too. 
So don't forget, if you please, that I 

Am one of the gardeners from the sky. 

(Here, the Gardener, standing in front of all, 
^ays :) 

Now, says the Garden, come and find with me, 
A host of flowers waiting to be free; 
They are in Summer's castle, and they share 
The news that some day we shall find them there. 
But, first, we dig and delve, with loving toil, 
And fertilize and furrow deep the soil; 
.And then we plant and guard the tiny seed, 
And clear the fragrant earth of stone and weed; 
And we, together with the Rain and Sun, 
Shall come and go and many errands run. 
But when the Rain's away, we still must keep 
The gardens watered, while the seed's asleep; 
For that's the service of our Springtime hours, 
That brings, some day, the Freedom of the 
Flowers. 

(Now an attendant from without brings to 
the Gardener a large American flag, and as the 
<Gardener holds the Stars and Stripes before him, 
Jie marches in the lead of the processional of the 
Garden Helpers, the Sun and the Rain immediately 
following him, after these the two Wheelbarrows, 
then the other Garden Helpers, each by fours, or 
tos convenient to situation.) 



The Garden Helpers 1^ 

(As they parade about the platform, they 
sing, to the air of ''Maryland, My Maryland," the 
following : ) 

As these, our gifts of toil, we bring. 

Garden Land, America, 
A thousand times thy praise we sing. 

Garden Land, America. 
While seasons come, and seasons go, 
May we that fadeless pleasure know, 
Who run thine errands to and fro, 

Garden Land, America. 
The treasure of thy bounteous days, 

Garden Land, America, 
Is safe within thy garden ways, 

Garden Land, America. 
0, may we guard it proudly there. 
With noble toil our honored share, 
And so thy joys and burdens bear. 

Garden Land, America. 

The best of all our waking hours. 

Garden Land, America, 
We'll grace thy paths with fruits and flowers, 

Garden Land, America. 
Thy plains and vales, from shore to shore, 
He'll crown with beauty evermore, 
Thy banner leading on before. 

Garden Land, America. 

EXEUNT. 



ANOTHER PATRIOTIC HONOLOG 



"WHEN mm CAME HOME 



FROM THE MARNE 



}y 



By SEYMOUR S. TIBBALS 



^T^HE STORY tells of a widow's son, a peace- 
* ful young farmer, who enlisted in the U. 
S. Marines and lost an arm, as his father lost 
an arm at Shiloh. A stirring description of a 
gas attack and how the Marines won the 
fight. 

The climax is reached when Monty comes 
back and drives the cattle up the lane. 

Suitable for any reader and a number that 
will be welcome on any program. 



:g@|: | PRICE 25 CENTS | :| 



THE ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE 

FRANKLIN, OHIO alsi t'^^^'bX DENVER, COLO. 



NEW KiD CROSS PLAY FOR GIRLS 

CAPTAIN ANNE Of the RED CROSS 



OR- 



How the Militant Ghosts Saved Millville 

Here is a genuine Red Cross Comedy for 10 
girl characters. A happy play that will send 
your Chapter over the top with a smile on 
any kind of a drive. 

*'Capt. Anne of the Red Cross'' has just 
been written by Miss Merab Eberle and while 
dignifying the great Order of Mercy the act- 
ion proceeds with a spirit of fun that will 
make a hit in any community. 

The plot deals with an attempt to destroy a 
munition factory by foreign plotters and how 
the girls of the surgical dressing class, robed 
in their gowns, frightened them away. A 
welcome relief in these days of sober numbers 
on entertainment programs. 

One interior setting. Easily costumed and 
staged. Time about one hour and a half. 

-<^^^PRICE 25 CENTS.^*^^- 

THE ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE 

FRANKLIN, OHIO also 'ZTs£:' DENVER, COLO. 



THE BIG SUCCESS OF LAST SEASON 



m^y^- 



"Somewhere in France" 



By SEYMOUR S. T/BBALS 

/q STIRRING patriotic drama of the World 
\^ War in 3 acts. 4 male, 3 female char- 
acters. All strong parts. One interior scene. 

This play has been rewritten and elaborated 
to play a full evening. Last season it achieved 
an instantanteous hit with amateur players, 
being produced with great success. 

The action takes place in the home of Pierre 
Graudet, a few miles from the trenches and 
graphically shows why America went into the 
war. Two sons have been killed in battle and 
Jean, the youngest son, is blinded by a shell. 
Mary Dale, an American Red Cross nurse, is 
attached to a base hospital near the home of 
the Graudets and her personal care of Jean 
has ripened into love for the brave young 
Frenchman who has won his Medal of Honor. 
The capture of a German aviator, who is com- 
pelled to land near the home, furnishes a 
thrilling and dramatic climax at the end of 
the second act. The dialog is intensely patriotic 
and one critic has termed the play "a classic.'' 
A splendid play for a Red Cross benefit, or to 
raise money for any war activity. Our most 
popular play last season. 



PRICE 23 CENTS 



THE ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE 



FRANKLIN, OHIO also "XT" 



DENVER, COLO. 



THE NEW COSTUME BOOK 



HERE AT LAST IS A BOOK WHICH WILL BE WELCOMED BY 
EVERYONE WHO HAS AN ENTERTAINMENT IN CHARGE 

AMATEURS' COSTUME BOOK 

By ELIZABETH *s"pt" ■ — ^ 



.V 



DESCRIBES ACCURATELY HOW TO 
MAKE OVER 100 COSTUMES FOR 

Mother Goose Characters 
Fairies, Witches, Goblins 
Spirit of Christmas 
Characters of Flowers 
Patriotic Personalities 
Elves, Brownies and Gnomes 
^K Variety of Dolls 
Little Folks of Long Ago 
Grecian Maids and Matron 
Characters of Comedy 
The Four Seasons 
Holiday Characters 
Different Nationalities 
Angels, Cupids, etc. etc. 

ILLUSTRATED FROM ACTUAL PHOTOGRAPHS 

Useful to enterprising mothers who are called upon to 
costume their children for amateur entertainments or 
fancy dress parties. ::::::: 

DDir^Pi PAPER, 50 CENTS 
r l^l W t \ CLOTH, 75 CENTS 

ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE 

FRANKLIN. OHIO ^ ^ ^ ^ DENVER, COLO. 




LIBRARY 



CONGRESS 



The Pageant of t 11^^^^^^^^^ 

Especially recommended for a Red Cross 
benefit or any patriotic entertainment to raise 
funds for the army at home or abroad. :: :: 

"The SPIRIT OF 



DEMOCRACY 



n 



AN ALLEGORICAL PAGEANT OF THE 
WORLD WAR, IN BLANK VERSE, 

By MERAB EBERLE ==:^ 

The action takes place at the throne of 
Autocracy, following a brief prologue by the 
prophet. The allies come to the aid of the 
Spirit of Democracy and crush Autocracy. :: 

The pageant may be given indoors or out- 
doors and is capable of simple or elaborate 
productfon. :: :: :: :: :: :: 

A SPLENDID FEATURE ON ANY PATRIOTIC PROGRAM 

16 characters, male and female or all female. 
Time about 30 minutes. :: :: :: :: 

PRICE 25 CENTS _^.i^> 

ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE 



FRANKLIN, OHIO 



DENVER, COLO. 



'fffiiili. 



